The present invention relates generally to wireless communication systems and methods, and more particularly to frame synchronization in ultrawideband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing communication systems.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Multi-Band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (MB-OFDM) systems transmit packets of OFDM symbols over multiple frequency sub-bands that are part of a wideband spectrum. Such wideband spectrums typically provide transmission rates up to 480 Mbps. However, given the increase in bandwidth-intensive traffic, such as data and video traffic, systems and methods for providing transmission rates greater than 480 Mbps over such spectrums are being developed. Receiving data at such high data rates in UWB MB-OFDM systems, however, may require improved techniques of frame synchronization.
In addition some proposed systems include time-frequency hopping features, features in which symbols making up a packet may be transmitted over different frequencies. Framing of a packet, for example determining a location of a symbol in a packet relative to other symbols in the packet, may be more difficult when the symbols are transmitted over time varying frequencies.